Logitech Announces Third Quarter Results for FY 2012

Sales for Q3 FY 2012 were $715 million, down 5 percent from $754 million in Q3 FY 2011. Changes in exchange rates did not have an impact on sales compared to the prior year. Operating income was $70 million, down 8 percent from $76 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net income for Q3 FY 2012 was $55 million ($0.32 per share) compared to net income of $65 million ($0.36 per share) in Q3 of FY 2011. Gross margin for the quarter was 36.2 percent compared to 36.0 percent one year ago.

Logitech’s retail sales for Q3 FY 2012 decreased by 4 percent, with an increase in Asia of 13 percent, a decrease in EMEA of 5 percent and a decrease in the Americas of 8 percent. OEM sales decreased by 24 percent. Sales for the LifeSize division grew 6 percent.

“Our Q3 FY 2012 sales performance across most of our business is consistent with the findings from the assessment of our business that we completed earlier this fiscal year,” said Guerrino De Luca, Logitech chairman and acting chief executive officer. “Large categories such as cordless mice and cordless keyboards, including those for tablets, achieved strong year-over-year sales growth, despite the product gaps that exist across many of our retail categories. I am pleased with our improved execution in EMEA and with the progress of our new product initiatives, both of which we expect to benefit from in Fiscal Year 2013.

“Since we last provided our outlook for Fiscal Year 2012 at the end of October, several factors have changed. Most significantly, the Euro has weakened considerably during the last three months. In addition, webcams and remotes continue to be impacted more than expected by product portfolio and market weakness. Consequently, we have lowered our outlook for FY 12 sales and operating income.

“I am very pleased with our strong cash generation in Q3,” continued De Luca. “Our cash flow from operations for the quarter was $153 million and we ended with $523 million in cash. We can repurchase up to $177 million of our shares under our existing share repurchase program, with all regulatory approvals in place to begin repurchases on our second trading line.”

Outlook

For Fiscal Year 2012, ending March 31, 2012, the Company now expects sales of approximately $2.3 billion and operating income of approximately $60 million. The gross margin for the full year continues to be estimated to reach approximately 33 percent. Full-year outlook factors in the operating loss and very low gross margin previously reported for Q1.

Prepared Remarks Available Online

Logitech has made its prepared written remarks for the financial results teleconference available online on the Logitech corporate Web site at http://ir.logitech.com. The remarks are posted in the Calendar section on the Investor home page.

Financial Results Teleconference and Webcast

Logitech will hold a financial results teleconference to discuss the results for Q3 and the Company’s outlook on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and 14:30 Central European Time. A live webcast of the call will be available on the Logitech corporate website at http://ir.logitech.com.

About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

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This press release contains forward-looking statements, including the statements regarding anticipated sales, operating income and gross margin for FY 2012, the impact of improved EMEA execution and product initiatives on FY 2013 performance, and future share repurchases. The forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Logitech’s actual results to differ materially from that anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: the demand of our customers and our consumers for our products and our ability to accurately forecast it; if our investment prioritization decisions do not result in the sales or profitability growth we expect, or when we expect it; the effect of pricing, product, marketing and other initiatives by our competitors, and our reaction to them, on our sales, gross margins and profitability; the sales mix among our lower- and higher-margin products and our geographic sales mix; if our product offerings and marketing activities do not result in the sales and profitability growth we expect, or when we expect it; if we fail to take advantage of trends in the consumer electronics and personal computers industries, including the growth of mobile computing devices such as smartphones and tablets with touch interfaces, or if significant demand for peripherals to use with tablets and other mobile devices with touch interfaces does not develop; if there is a deterioration of business and economic conditions in one or more of our sales regions or operating segments, or significant fluctuations in currency exchange rates; if the sales growth in emerging markets for our PC peripherals and other products does not increase as much as we expect; if our operational changes in our EMEA sales region do not result in the sales improvement in EMEA we expect; in digital music, if we are not able to identify product development, marketing, and organizational skill gaps, and resolve them, or if we fail to introduce differentiated product and marketing strategies to separate ourselves from competitors; the adverse conclusion of one or more ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions and a material assessment by a governing tax authority that adversely affects our profitability; competition in the video conferencing and communications industry, including from companies with significantly greater resources, sales and marketing organizations, installed base and name recognition; as well as those additional factors set forth in Logitech's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2011 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q we intend to file for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011, available at www.sec.gov. Logitech does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, which speak as of their respective dates.

Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s Web site at www.logitech.com.